Seven injured Utumishi Girls students airlifted to Nairobi

Several onlookers and parents are gathered at one of the several choppers that had landed to airlift several students from Utumishi Girls’ Senior School who had been admitted at the St. Joseph Rift Valley Hospital following a fire tragedy.

Here, one of the students is inconsolable perhaps due to pain as she is comforted by medics and her relatives.

She insists she wants to be up seated despite the chopper clearly requiring the patients to be horizontal. She is one of the seven students who are being airlifted to either Kenyatta University Teaching and referral Hospital or the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.

According to Dr Collins Malalu, a Resident Medical Officer, 69 students were brought to the hospital early in the morning at around 3 a.m. Thursday. 

"Our casualty emergency unit received 69 students. Of the 69 most of them had different degrees of burn injuries, fractures, trauma and anxiety from the morning fire," he says adding that they managed to stabilize all of them. 

According to the medic 61 of the students were treated successfully with minor fractures and lacerations sutured.

"Those with fractures were stabilized, immobilized with back slabs and further imaging done. We had eight who were seriously injured. We are suspecting that seven might have developed spine injuries and one with an inhalation injury from the burning. We managed to airlift the seven to KNH and KU hospitals while one was discharged at the parent's discretion and taken to the hospital of choice," he confirms.

He adds that they are hoping they are going to get MRIs and advanced CT scans to help in their definitive management.

Earlier on in the day Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen, Education Julius Ogamba, Gender CS Hannah Cheptumo, Gov Susan Kihika, Gilgil MP, Martha Wangari arrived at the hospital to check on the condition of the admitted students.